Street, Road and Highway Projects

[grant1simons2]

The 2014 construction season is over! Now what's going to be your favorite 2015 project that we know of so far?

Mine:

1. Nicollet Mile

2. Hennepin-Lyndale Bottleneck

3. Washington Ave. reconstruction

[Silophant]

Hennepin-Lyndale Bottleneck, for sure. I live right by it and almost get hit walking across it on a frighteningly regular basis.

[Didier]

I noticed a few weeks ago that the freeway wall on 35W in south Minneapolis was cut open and there have been heavy machines there ever since. Anybody know what this is? I can't remember the exact location but it's somewhere just south of downtown.

[twincitizen]

The 2014 construction season is over! Now what's going to be your favorite 2015 project that we know of so far?

Mine:

1. Nicollet Mile

2. Hennepin-Lyndale Bottleneck

3. Washington Ave. reconstruction

Those are all two-year construction projects, if I'm not mistaken, so we won't actually get to enjoy the results until sometime in 2016. Another smaller downtown one is the new 7th St exit from WB 94. Not as sexy as the aforementioned projects, but still quite useful. Over in Midway St. Paul they'll be having a mini-carmageddon as the Snelling Ave bridge over I-94 is closed for like 4 months.

There's also 26th/28th resurfacing & adding bike lanes, from 35W to Hiawatha. Final layouts for that have not been decided upon, as far as I know.

[seanrichardryan]

The state has a solution to their Hwy 53 'problem' in Virginia MN. A 220M bridge over a quarry-

http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/283107421.html

It could be a stunning landmark for the range, but looks to be a very tall freeway bridge.

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d1/projects/ ... .11.14.pdf

[mulad]

Here's one question: How much value does the mine expect to get out of the land that's under the current alignment of the highway? It's probably a lot, but it's worth knowing how much more (or potentially less) than $220 million it would be. The company apparently has revenues of over $1 billion per quarter, though this is only one of eight or so mines they own around the world.

[mattaudio]

Amen. We should see if they would sell the current roadbed for $220 M. No fancy bridge to maintain and eventually replace in 70-100 years. Fewer liabilities, same mobility.

[nate]

Looking at an aerial photo of the area, it doesn't look like its that simple. I'm sure they'd want to dig hundreds of feet down to make a pit mine and the road exactly bisects what looks like where they'll want the middle of the pit to be. There also doesn't appear to be any other simple bypasses. If the mine really contains billions of dollars of iron ore, I can't imagine they'd give it up for a mere $220 million.

Besides, if we as a state wrote a $220 million check to some mining company, it would just end up as a bonus or a dividend for people who likely live outside the state. At least this way there's an ongoing mining operation creating jobs and helping the local economy for the next several decades. If we're out the money one way or the other, I think this is a better use of it.

[mattaudio]

Streetscapes: Milwaukee Avenue a model for change
A couple of picturesque residential blocks along Milwaukee Avenue could be the key to funding the upkeep of local roads.
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/284899821.html

[mattaudio]

St. Paul: I haven't seen a mention of the planned stroadification of Randolph at Lexington. Any St. Paul folks want to give us some details, and how we can fight it?

[mamundsen]

"stroadification" Wouldn't that mean it's going to be worse??? To me it looks like it is going to be better. Here is what I found:

1. This is a Ramsey Country project and is summarized at this link: (http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/pw)

Ramsey County, in cooperation with the City of Saint Paul, will reconstruct Randolph Avenue from Snelling Avenue to I-35E to replace the deteriorating roadway section.

2. This is the project layout: (http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/NR/rdonlyres ... Layout.pdf)

This looks like it will have bumpouts for crosswalks while keeping the same lane configuration, hence not "stroadification."

Randolph Avenue will remain in its current configuration of two travel lanes and two parking lanes.

[mattaudio]

That's a different project from what I've heard, which involves the intersection near Trader Joe's.

[twincitizen]

That layout doesn't have the full length of the project or the Lex-Randolph intersection that has drawn pedestrian ire.

Though I'm not sure what they're proposing either that has people riled up. There are already left turn lanes for all movements, plus a couple of right turn lanes. Are they adding a right turn lane from EB Randolph to SB Lexington? If so, I'd oppose that too. Are they adding medians or something, which would have the effect of increasing the ped crossing distance?

[mamundsen]

Oh yeah.. That isn't the full layout. Maybe they removed the 2nd phase because it is changing. The full scope of this project is Snelling Avenue to I-35E. You should be able to use the contact information on the project page I previously linked.

Edit: I found a line that says the Mayor's proposed budget will create a 8-80 Vitality fund. In that fund there is $1.5M for addition of a turn lane on Randolph at Lexington.

[mattaudio]

A flipping right turn lane. We can't be satisfied until you can take right turns at 80 MPH instead of 8 MPH. That's what an 8-80 vitality fund is, right? #PorkChops #Bloomingtonize

[froggie]

Matt: calling it a pork chop is premature. It will likely be a turn lane requiring a stop-and-turn.

[mattaudio]

So, except in cases where there's crushing pedestrian traffic that forces queues for right turns, what exactly is the purpose of a right turn lane in an urban environment?

[twincitizen]

Can anyone find the plans of exactly what is being proposed here? That would seem critical to this discussion

[grant1simons2]

Random question: Is there a website or map I could use to find road widths in Minneapolis? I need it for a mini project of mine.

[RailBaronYarr]

The Hennepin County GIS Property info site is a good resource. It shows where the property lines are and there's a measurement tool built-in. You'll be within a foot or in my experience. Anything more detailed/accurate than that may need something else..